Boy, oh, boy

      Christmas morning brought me a BIG surprise.  Normally, as Mom, there are not too many surprises for me.  Wow.  Not this time.  There was a brand new bicycle in front of the tree.  A girl’s bicycle.  for me, must be, I am the only girl that lives here.  A couple of elves, in the form of Joseph and Benjamin had been plotting together for months.  Discouraged me from buying new tires when I was having trouble with a series of flats.  One day, quite some time ago, Benjamin was playing with a measuring tape measuring all kinds of things around the house, including the people.  To figure out what size bike to get me.  The day they were to meet at the shop to pick it up, Joseph was not well.  Benjamin walked and light railed and walked to the bike shop and rode my bike home.  Without me finding out or suspecting a thing.  They hid it in the garage in an area Benjamin had cleared in his sorting and cleaning binges.  Apparently, Joseph was just covering it up with a tarp when I went into the garage to get a broom and dustpan.  Clueless,  I thought he was out there with his cat for some reason.

        It is a really nice bike.  A Trek, same brand as the one Joseph’s office surprised him with.  They put a nice cushy seat on it.  We need to get my rack for my bike bag transferred on to it and a kick stand.  Maybe adjust the handlebars a smidge.  We will probably take it to the bike shop for adjustments Friday. 

      I am eager to ride it to work, but a little concerned about leaving my nice bike in front of the building, even though I do use both a U lock and a cable lock.  Maybe I will reconsider renting space in the cage in the parking garage across the street.  I have been reluctant to do so because, 1) I am afraid of parking garages - this one was dark and scary when I visited it on lunch break, 2) it will had a few minutes to my commute time, locking and unlocking the cage, still locking my bike, and a bit of an extra walk to the building, and 3) (but not really) I am incredibly cheap and this will cost a couple of dollars a month.  Going down into the garage at 5 or 5:30 on a dark winter evening is daunting to me.  When I go out to the bike racks in front of the building in the evening, there are more lights than in the garage and either lots of other workers coming out or, if it is later, a security guard. But this is such a nice bike, I don’t want anything to happen to it.  Must think about it.